Child Abuse Case Overturned

2-16-04 - An Ardmore woman convicted in a shocking case of child abuse in Ardmore will now get a new trial. But the outcome could end up being even more prison time. It was more than two and a half years ago that officers made the shocking discovery, at a home on F Street Northwest. It was July of 2002 when officers discovered a the 2 year old girl inside a closet. She weighed a mere sixteen pounds and was on the brink of starvation. Esther Servins entered a blind plea of guilty, and a judge sentenced her to 47 years in prison. But Servins hired another attorney and appealed the sentence, claiming she didn’t understand the consequences of her blind plea. An appeals court overturned the verdict earlier this month and sent the case back to Carter County. But District Attorney Mitch Sperry says he’s not upset by the decision, and looks forward to trying the case in front of a jury. He believes that Servins could end up with a much stiffer sentence. The case could be on the trial docket as early as this April or June.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.